Steve Miller (born 5 October 1943) is a blues and rock and roll guitarist and performer. He was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin but attended high school in Dallas. While at St. Mark's School of Texas, he formed his first band, The Marksmen. Miller taught one of his classmates, Royce Boz Scaggs, a few guitar chords so that he could join the band; Scaggs became better known by his nickname, Boz. Miller attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison during the 1960s, where he formed The Ardells. Scaggs joined the Ardells the next year. Ben Sidran was added to the Ardells as a keyboardist the following year.
In 1968, Miller formed the Steve Miller Band, with Scaggs handling vocals, and released an album, Children of the Future, the first in a series of discs rooted solidly in the psychedelic blues style that dominated the San Francisco music scene at the time. Scaggs would leave the band after a couple of albums with vocal chores taken over by drummer Tim Davis; Miller himself would begin singing occasional lead on 1969's Brave New World. These albums performed respectably on the album charts but failed to yield a hit.
In the 1970's the band had some hits that became classics over the years - Jet Airliner, with some evocative lyrics that brought home the loss of life on the road; and The Joker which includes the famous line about the "pompatus of love", which is of course nonsense, but that didn't stop a lot of stoned folks from spending years talking amongst themselves.
Steve Miller's father was a wealthy doctor in Dallas, and friends with famous guitarist and guitar designer Les Paul. Les Paul gave Miller his first guitar lessons.
Longtime member Norton Buffalo (harmonica player) died from lung cancer on October 30, 2009.
John King (drummer during "The Joker" era) died after a short bout of kidney cancer on October 26, 2010.
Band-member James Cooke died from cancer on 16 May 2011.
Ain't That Lovin' You Baby
Steve Miller Band Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Ain't that lovin' you, baby?
Ain't that lovin' you, baby?
Ain't that lovin' you, baby?
But you don't even know my name
Listen to me, baby
What I say is true
I'd swim to the bank
And get back home to you
[Chorus]
They may kill me, darlin'
Honey, just like they do
Well, my body might die
But my spirit's gonna rise
And crawl back home to you
[Chorus]
Ain't that lovin' you, baby?
Ain't that lovin' you, baby?
Ain't that lovin' you, baby?
But you don't even know my name
Don't even know my name
Ain't that lovin' you, baby?
Ain't that lovin' you, baby?
Ain't that lovin' you, baby?
But you don't even know my name
Said, you don't even know my name
Said, you don't even know my name
No, you don't even know my name
No, you don't even know my name
No, you don't even know my name
The lyrics to Steve Miller Band's "Ain't That Lovin' You, Baby" express a deep sense of love and devotion towards a person who doesn't even know the singer's name. The chorus of the song repeatedly asks the question, "Ain't that lovin' you, baby?" as a rhetorical gesture that suggests that the singer's willingness to do anything for this person is an expression of love, despite the fact that they don't even seem to care to remember the singer's name.
The verses of the song express this devotion in more detail. The singer assures the object of their love that they are committed to them, no matter what happens. Even if they were dropped in the ocean, they would swim back to be with this person. The second verse expresses the idea that the singer is willing to die for their love, but that their spirit will always remain faithful and return to this person.
Overall, "Ain't That Lovin' You, Baby" is a song about love that is both powerful and unrequited. The singer is pouring out their heart, expressing a devotion that is so complete that even the prospect of death cannot diminish it. Yet at the same time, the object of their love is indifferent or unaware, leaving the singer to express their emotions without receiving any recognition or validation.
Line by Line Meaning
Ain't that lovin' you, baby?
Isn't that considered as love, my dear?
Ain't that lovin' you, baby?
Isn't that still considered as love, my dear?
Ain't that lovin' you, baby?
Isn't that still considered as love, my dear?
But you don't even know my name
But you haven't bothered to know my name
Listen to me, baby
Please pay attention to what I am saying, dear
What I say is true
Believe me, what I say is genuine
They could drop me in the ocean
Even if they leave me stranded in the middle of the sea
I'd swim to the bank
I would find my way back to get to you
And get back home to you
Make my way back to you, as home is where the heart is
They may kill me, darlin'
They may take my life, my love
Honey, just like they do
Just like they do to others, my dear
Well, my body might die
My physical self may perish
But my spirit's gonna rise
My soul will rise up
And crawl back home to you
And find my way back to you
No, you don't even know my name
You have yet to learn my name, my dear
No, you don't even know my name
You haven't troubled yourself to know who I am
No, you don't even know my name
You still don't know my name
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: James Reed
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind